


The Phoenix Returns

by PuddlesOnTheRocks



Category: David and the Phoenix
Genre: Friendship, Humor
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-18
Updated: 2017-11-30
Packaged: 2018-10-20 10:32:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10660746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PuddlesOnTheRocks/pseuds/PuddlesOnTheRocks
Summary: Hokay, so I know none of you probably know of the book David and the Phoenix. It's a book by Edward Ormondroyd about a boy named David who moves houses, and on a mountain by his new home he meets a phoenix. They become friends, go on adventures, the phoenix eats a ton of sugar cookies, but theres a danger, the Scientist. He wants to capture the phoenix. Unfortunately, he almost does, and on the Phoenix's 500th birthday he finds them…right when the Phoenix is lighting his pyre. The new phoenix flies away, leaving the scientist with a nasty bruise and David shocked and sad. This story will pick up from there, with the Phoenix coming back for David and bringing him on more adventures.I know, wonderful summary innit?





	1. In which the Phoenix returns, and David is to learn of Griffins

David was once more sitting on his bed looking out the window, up at the mountain. He had climbed up there every day for the past year, waiting for his friend the Phoenix to come back, but he never did. Not since his 500th birthday and the Scientist.

The Scientist had left long ago, and David had waited eagerly, hoping to see his friend. Then more and more time passed, and he had begun to lose hope. This was the first day he had not climbed up to the ledge, because he couldn't bear to see that there was nothing there once more.

He still dreamed about the Phoenix. The crest of feathers on his head, which the Phoenix was so very proud of. The adventures they had gone on, to see the faun and the gryffen, and being captured by the gryffons. To see the sea-monster, and the Phoenix racing the Witch. The Banshee, who had made a Wail to briefly scare away the Scientist. Bringing the Phoenix sugar cookies every day, and meeting the Phoenix by freeing him from the bushes on top of the ledge on the mountain.

David had wondered if the Phoenix could still fly with David on his back, wind rushing past his face and the Phoenix sometimes teaching him Latin. The two of them talking about where to go next, what to see.

It had all come to a very abrupt end.

And then  
David was asleep, tears running down his face. He missed the Phoenix, but refused to admit to his parents what was bothering him. It wasn't like he could tell them he only climbed up on the mountain to see a magical bird who could take him to see a mystical land. They'd put him in a mental institute.  
But that night something changed

He was suddenly woken up by a loud "Pssst!" from the window. The sort of sound somebody makes when they are trying to wake you up discreetly.  
David shook his head, ignoring what was probably a dream  
And then it happened again  
This time he ran to the window, lifting the frame to look outside. No-one was there.  
He was about to close the window again, and go back to bed, when he noticed something on the ledge. A single bright-gold feather, like the ones the Phoenix had sported after he was reborn from the pyre.  
He didn't sleep the rest of the night.

The next morning he rushed through breakfast, running to the mountain with a bag packed with sugar cookies and sandwiches, and climbed the mountain. It was a long hike, but he was used to it.  
He got to the top and ran to the bush, parting it to look on the ledge and saw…  
Nothing.  
He felt tears prick his eyes. It MUST have been a dream. The feather was probably from a random bird.

He was about to head home until he heard a rustling in the bush next to him and he looked over to see golden feathers peeking out of the drab shrubbery.  
"Phoenix?" he asked quietly  
"David, my boy! It is so nice to see you. Would you be so kind as to help me out of this bush? I seem to be stuck." The Phoenix said regretfully, and David just laughed and parted the shrubbery to free him.  
"Oh Phoenix, I thought I would never see you again!" he said, flinging his arms around the Phoenix's neck. "I missed you so much!"  
"Well, my dear boy…I…well it is to be said that I missed you as well." The Phoenix harrumphed, quite taken aback by the display of emotion. "I believe it is time we continued with your Education. I believe I have told you of Gryffins?"

"The small, reddish, friendly ones?" David recalled from a past conversation

"Exactly, my boy." The Phoenix said, sounding pleased. "We shall leave the Gryffens alone, for they are asleep, and the Gryffons would most likely try to capture us once more."  
"But Phoenix" David said worriedly. "You are smaller than you were. How will you carry me?"  
The Phoenix puffed up with pride and annoyance. "My boy." He said, "I may be smaller, but I am also younger. With a little practice, I shall be able to fly with you on my back. All it requires is practice."


	2. In Which the Phoenix Flies Again, and David Nearly Falls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I hope only to do this book justice. This is a rare event in which you all can hate this, and I will still write it if I feel it is done well.  
> And my criticism of myself is honestly horrid. I don't know how I get anything done.

The Phoenix seemed to suddenly notice the bag of cookies in David's hand.  
"Ah, sweet ambrosia." he said wistfully, eyes gleaming

David laughed. "I made sure we always had them around Phoenix, in case you came back."

"Well that, dear boy, I...I find myself unable to express my gratitude." the Phoenix replied.

"It's alright, Phoenix." the boy suddenly stopped, anxious. "You aren't going to leave again, are you?"

"Dear boy, you have an Education we must finish! And after all, I made a Promise to you!" the Phoenix replied, eyes flashing indignantly.

"But you left last time."

"Well that, dear boy, was a different matter entirely." was the affronted response.

"All right Phoenix." was the boy's fond answer. "When are you going to practice flying?"

"Why, now, of course! No time like the present! Of course, we are in need of water, perhaps a cloth..."

"There's a pond over there, the rain filled a depression in the ground ages ago." the boy replied. "And we can use my jacket, it's too hot out anyways."

"Well then...for that matter I see you have everything settled. I'll begin with, possibly, a warm up."

"Alright Phoenix." the boy made himself comfortable on the grass, smiling to himself, knowing the Phoenix's love of attention.

It seemed to be something of a dream as he watched the familiar swoop and spiral pattern of the brilliantly plumaged bird who had disappeared a year ago, along with the Scientist. He was all too afraid of waking the next day and finding the Phoenix had never truly returned.

But he had the assurance that he would not be left alone again, and his nerves nonwithstanding, he trusted the Phoenix.

Who, at the moment, was next to him.

"My boy, if you would like, I think we can do a trial flight together."

"Already? But Phoenix, it took you ever so long last time!" came the boy's nervous cry

Again the neck drew upwards, and the eyes flashed. "My boy, I was an older bird then."

"Okay Phoenix, if you say so" said the boy, nervously climbing onto the Phoenix's back, being careful not to pull the feathers.

"Ready, my boy?" came the question, but the Phoenix left no time for an answer, as he was already leaping off the cliff face

The boy closed his eyes before the painful rush of wind, the ground was hurtling towards them, they were going to crash...

But the impact never came, and as the sting of wind lessened, David opened his eyes

"As I said, my boy, practice was all that was needed." came the prideful reply to an unspoken question.

"Alright Phoenix, so you did." David said, concealing a smile. "Shall we go meet the Griffins now?"

"My boy, it is getting late..."

"It's not even noon, Phoenix! Please?"

"My boy, I..." the bird made the mistake of looking back and meeting the innocent eyes only a child could truly do justice too. "Oh...alright, I suppose."

The boy hid a smile as they flew onward.

 

The Phoenix had described Griffins as "friendly, reddish ones" but had never bothered to explain further. David was in shock at the small bundles of feathers that greeted them as they approached the ground.  
"Phoenix, why are they so...small?" he asked

"Those are the offspring, my dear boy, and why I discouraged the notion of coming here. The parents are rather tired from young energy, and the small ones are too full of it to calm down." the Phoenix replied gruffly.

"So will we not get to meet the adults?" David asked sadly

"Well, my dear boy...perhaps one can be encouraged to talk." the Phoenix replied, staring down the younger Griffins who tried to nip playfully at his feathers. "Stop that."

"Phoenix, they're children." David soothed. "Let's go talk to the adults."

"Hmmph." was the reply, but the pat of feet on dirt told him he was not walking alone

David walked into a clearing that seemed to be full of small boulders. "Where are the Griffins, Phoenix?"

"Here. I told you, my dear boy, they sleep often when the younglings are still so...energetic." was the reply.

"Are any awake?"

"I suppose one can be roused from their slumber, dear boy. But it is a delicate task." The Phoenix walked over to one of the boulder-like objects. "Watch carefully."

"I'm watching, Phoenix."

The bird nodded and leaned close to a small gap, which David assumed was the ear. "Wake up!" he screeched

"Phoenix!" David gasped. "There was no need to shout!"

"I quite agree." came the quiet, gravelly reply. "I was quite enjoying my nap."

"I am giving David here an Education." was the gruff reply. "Your naps are none of my concern."

"They never are, are they?" sighed the Griffin. "David, you say? Pleased to meet you. What are you doing in the company of such an arrogant creature?"

"He's my friend." defended David

"Well, to each their own." the Griffin stretched, catlike, opening it's mouth wide in a yawn to show small, needle-sharp teeth. "What can I tell you?"

David hesitated. "I...well, I don't really know."

"Curiosity, is it? As reasons go, it isn't the worst of them. Curiosity killed the cat..."

"But satisfaction brought it back." the Phoenix finished. "Come along, my boy..."

"Phoenix!" David protested

"Oh let the boy stay awhile." the Griffin said lazily. "Why in such a rush?"

The Phoenix looked uneasily at the younglings

"Ah, the children." Said the Griffin, amused. "Afraid of youngsters, is that it?"

David hid a grin at the Phoenix's obvious discomfort around such destructive beings.

"So, David." said the Griffin. "Questions?"

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, I hope you all enjoyed that bout of idiocy! Unlike the last chapter I did not have the book right next to me, so let's hope this one turned out.


	3. In which David is alone, and the Phoenix finds an adventure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And im back! Hopefully. I lost my entire notebook of ideas, and schoolwork is the bane of my existence, so I'm hoping this continues steadily until I find an ending.

David spent hours in the company of the Gryffin. During these hours, the Phoenix grew even more restless, pacing back and forth and fending off the fledglings before finally squacking in annoyance.  
"What is it, Phoenix?" David asked patiently while the Gryffin whipped his head around in shock.  
"My boy, it has been hours, and I find I am growing..." he glanced at the Gryffin almost nervously.  
"Bored." The Gryffin finished with a birds semblance of a smile. "It is quite alright, my impatient friend. I'm sure your..."  
David looked at the Phoenix, somewhat curious.  
"Well, David is my student." the Phoenix said, puffing up proudly. He paused, and seemed to deflate for a moment. "I suppose that...well, all things considered, my boy...if I were to be totally honest..."  
"He's my friend." David said, somewhat exasperated.  
"Well then, your friend better be getting home. It certainly is late." the Gryffin said. "There will be other days to continue your Education among Gryffins, David."  
"Thank you." David said as he stood, smiling.   
"Feel free to continue our conversation if we ever meet again, child. That is, if the Phoenix is up to warding off the nestlings again." The Gryffin looked at the Phoenix with kind amusement. "He never was a patient fellow."  
"He is, in his own way." David replied, though privately he completely agreed with the Gryffin.   
The Gryffin waved with a wing as the Phoenix took to the air, dropping David off at the bottom of the mountain, unseen by anyone but a few shocked birds.  
"Tomorrow then?" Asked David, clambering off the Phoenix's back  
"Tomorrow, my boy." the Phoenix said, and headed back up the mountain.  
David scampered off towards home, greeted with a cacophony of sounds. His mother wanted to know where he'd been, his aunt wanted to know why all the sugar cookies were gone, his father wanted to know why his new shirt was covered in dirt--and were those feathers?  
David avoided all their questions, answering only that he had climbed the mountain and disturbed a nest of birds, who took wing from fright. He'd spent a long time up there sketching creatures from his imagination--his sketches of the Gryffin thankfully provided a back up for this--and the climb down had taken some time, so as not to trip.  
Thankfully, his family accepted this without much of a fight, only asking him to pay more attention to the time the next day. He agreed, and went off to bed.  
Before he fell asleep, he pinned the drawing to the wall and grinned wryly. Well, he'd certainly had an Education.

The next morning, the Phoenix wasn't there.

David stood at their meeting place, staring across the plateau of rock. He was gone. The last day was no dream, he had a handful of feathers and a few scratches from some particularly enthusiastic fledglings to prove that, but the Phoenix wasn't there.  
Had he decided that, since he was now a younger, new-ish bird, he no longer had to keep his promise?

The sugar cookies lay abandoned on the ground as David stared at the shrubbery, tears stinging his eyes. Until tomorrow, the Phoenix had said. It was tomorrow, and there was no Phoenix.

"My boy?" prompted a voice behind him. When David did not turn, he was prompted again with a hesitant, "David?"

He turned, meeting the eyes of the large bird, feathers fanned out nervously. "Were you...crying?"

"I..." he scuffed his foot along the dirt. "I thought you'd left." he confessed

"Left? Of course not!" the Phoenix seemed offended that he had even considered it. "I was simply practicing flight. You see, my boy, normally you are somewhat later than today, so I assumed...I do apologize." 

David smiled, albeit wetly. "It's alright Phoenix. Where are we going today?"

"I'm not entirely sure, my boy. But I am sure something will find us."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who reads this. You are truly wonderful people.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you all liked that. This was one of my favorite childhood books, and it's a joy to continue it.  
> As always, I hope you didn't hate it, and please review


End file.
